The new cultivar is a product of a planned breeding program. The new variety originated from a cross pollination of the seed parent, an unpatented Gloriosa superba with the pollen parent, an unpatented proprietary selection of Gloriosa lutea referred to as ‘#7’ directed by the inventor in 1998. The crossing was made in Nootdorp, the Netherlands, at a commercial greenhouse owned by the breeder.
‘Crimson Flame’ was discovered by the inventor, Wim Brouwer, in 1999 in Nootdorp, the Netherlands, at the same commercial greenhouse among seedlings resulting from the 1998 crossing.
Asexual reproduction of the new cultivar ‘Crimson Flame’ was first performed in the Netherlands at the inventor's greenhouse by tubers, and subsequently by tissue culture at a laboratory in the Netherlands. ‘Crimson Flame’ has since produced multiple generations from tubers and has shown that the unique features of this cultivar are stable and reproduced true to type.